Taylor Town

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Taylor Town

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The intersection between website security practices and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is often overlooked. Frequently, the two subjects stand alone when topically discussed. A thorough understanding of SEO ranking factors at a technical level, however, magnifies the potential impact website security can have on the optimzation of your online content for search engines. Mike Taylor, founder of TaylorTown SEO, recognizes the importance of security in the SEO space and is building a niche that specifically works to introduce this information to business owners who have been negatively affected.

Starting Out

While working as a corporate salesman in the telecommunications industry, Taylor began to recognize a shift in the industry. The growing online community created a new marketing environment that leveraged the Internet to capitalize on its efficiency and reach. Big businesses could exploit online opportunities and became capable of winning the search engine war with comparatively negligible investment. The practice, however, left smaller businesses vulnerable as many would be unable to compete with the marketing dollars spent by larger companies. Taylor’s entrepreneurial vision was rekindled during this time as he recognized a need in the market.

Armed with his background in B2B and B2C sales, Taylor would embark on a journey to help level the playing field. In 2011, TaylorTown SEO opened for business. The company would focus on small-to-medium sized business clients. His work to design, develop and optimize a web presence made websites capable of competing for highly valued keywords. The effort has since experienced strong growth as Mike Taylor proudly states.

SEO rank is not guaranteed. It is flexible and highly volatile. A top ranking site can disappear overnight and struggle to regain the top spot. TaylorTown works to address this issue holistically.

SEO Impact on Traffic & Sales

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SEO rank matters. It's a difficult truth much easier to downplay than to fully understand. Still, the numbers tell the story, leaving us with plain facts. Studies have shown the number one spot in a Google search to account for anywhere from 17% to 42% of Google Traffic for a completed search. That percentage range consistently plummets by more than half when moving to the second ranking spot and further declines to 2% or less by the 10th position on the first Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Based on this, it is safe to say that second page results are nearly irrelevant. Based on reduced traffic alone, we can conclude the negative impact of a site compromise on a website’s ranking could be catastrophic for a business. Moreover, the power of a top ranking position is made clear by the reality of lost sales resulting from a fall in the SERPs.

Google Blacklist and Penalties

Google’s new penalization policy for sites with compromised security could be a worst nightmare for any entrepreneur. The issue is that any site which has a detected hack will not be lowered in ranking, but rather will be removed from search results altogether. The altered process signals Google’s crackdown on security, a response that should kindle a desire for awareness in website owners everywhere.

Security Compromises

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There is an even darker and dirtier side of SEO security, a targeted attack referred to as SEO Poisoning. Mike Taylor has worked with businesses experiencing this type of compromise. Fernando Neto published an article on Sucuri’s blog discussing the topic specifically as well as the implications from such a compromise.

Recovery

In the perspective of professionals in the industry, prevention would, of course, be the preferred course of action for every site owner. Yet, since precautionary measures are still regularly overlooked or underemphasized, a recovery process is inevitable. Mike Taylor has worked diligently, for three years, to provide valuable SEO services to his clients. However, to address ever-growing concerns at the intersection of SEO and the security space, Taylor sought the Sucuri security team’s expertise to further assist his clients.

I’ve been doing WordPress design and optimization for about 3 years and I use Sucuri for malware removal. Recently, I removed malware from two websites for a new client using Sucuri.

The results from Taylor’s experience using Sucuri services found that both infected websites were completely cleaned and properly functional after 18 hours (from contact to completion). Taylor has since integrated Sucuri security services with his own in an effort to ensure his customers’ needs are wholly met.